WE HAVE an extremely long lie…apart from sleeping through all our alarm, we make coffee and I deal with all my emails and socials before we get up.
It’s a nice day and I suggest we try out some filming for a video idea I have. Margaret always agrees with some trepidation – she’s not very confident with the camera or gimbal and I can be a bit impatient. Don’t mean to be but sometimes I can’t contain myself!
First I need to spread the word about the Glasgow show with my pal Charlie Parr at the end of May. I repost the promoter’s post announcing the show (despite the fact that he’s billed me as Dave ‘Acari’….grrrr….!!!) and get something out to my mail list.
Rather than use the location I have in kind we decide to use the wooded area behind the studio and spend a few hours trying to get some footage in the can.
There’s not time to do much with the footage before it’s time to head off to Gartmore for dinner with our pals Duncan and Irene where have a grand evening catching up.
SOURDOUGH today so I’m up early to get the oven on. I’m baked, cooled and breakfasted before my first guitar student of the day – a 9am online session.
Dawn, my regular Wednesday morning student, arrives just as I’m finishing the online session and we spooned some times working on varying rhythm/strum patterns with a song.
There’s a few bits and bobs to sort out in the studio then I manage to get out for a paddle…first time in five or six weeks. It’s been windy and choppy every day for ages. I do a wee livestream while I’m out on the water.
Back home a shower and a late lunch before my afternoon kiddies arrive for their lesson. I’m puggled afterwards – despite feeling fine earlier, I’ve started to feel very again and have a nap.
A Messenger note comes in asking if I’m available to open a show for our pal Charlie Parr at Cottiers in Glasgow at the end of May. Of course! Charlies been a great pal for more than 15 years and we’ve played loads a shows together in the USA and Ireland…he’s always been championing for me to be on the bill at his Scottish shows but somewhere along the line – maybe promoter, agent or tour manager – has been bombed. He’s insisted this time and it’s happening 🙂
We should be able to announce the show tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon….
WE NEED some shopping and I have a photo that I created for Betty that needs printed…I send it to Asda’s Max Spielmann photo service, make up a shopping list and off we go into town.
I’m still full of lurgy and sleep while Margaret drives then wander round Asda ina bit of dwam.
In the studio I mess more with tabbing out guitar stuff using the MIDI pickup. Still a bit of a mess, but promising.
I have a guitar student at the house late afternoon then I have a nap, go back to the studio and get some more stuff done before we wander along to Betty’s for dinner.
MY USUAL Monday routine of getting sourdough in the oven is deviated as we’re having overnight oats today and tomorrow…so the bread baking will be on Wednesday this week.
I manage to get a fair bit of work done before an 11am session with an online guitar student. There’s some computer updates and stuff to run so once I get them set up I head off to the village for a swim.
After lunch I spend some time in the studio working on ways to tab out guitar music with a MIDI pickup then do some more video editing – vertical versions of the stuff I plan to spin into tonight's Wildcats’ livestream for reels later in the week and, while I have time, another song ready for next week.
The livestream goes smoothly with none of the technical issues that plagues last week’s episode then it’s back to he house for dinner.
RIGHT on form the kids have us awake early…I’m feeling like the lurgy hasn’t just not gone away, but is back 🙁
Matty goes out for a run and we have breakfast – he gets back just as Catriona arrives to pick up the kids. We all hang out for a while then everyone goes their separate ways.
I finish off a wee pewter heart pendant I started making for Margaret ages ago then hit the studio and edit up some video from Aldershot and Brighton ready for tomorrow (Monday) night’s Wildcats’ livestream.
WE’RE not long finished breakfast when Matty arrives…he’s picked up the kids at Catriona's and everyone’s here for the day/night.
Once I get the pork belly on the smoker for tonight’s tacos I get busy with merch production in the office and guitar stuff in the studio.
The others have all gone for a swim and when they get back I take a wander up the lochside and enjoy the walk listening to a podcast.
By the time the kids are ready for bed the pork belly is done – an eight hour smoke on the pellet smoker – but needs to rest for an hour before I slice it.
WE SLEEP through our alarms which is kinda weird as we weren’t late last night. Seems this lurgy is still lurking 🙁
I chase up an online order from last week that’s not been delivered – or charged – and find the company isn’t fulfilling orders in the UK, despite being a UK based company! They’ve cancelled the order and I find a similar product on Amazon. Not an important purchase, but annoying nonetheless as I like to try and support the more independent retailers.
The merch case is low on brass guitar pendants and pins. Before I make more, I start designing a jig for the engraving/embossing as getting things lined up properly is a bit of a pain and involves a lot of trial and error getting it right…and made worse having to do same for every on I make.
Making a brass jig – I can’t 3D print it as the embossment and engraving processes create a list of heat…so any kind of plastic, wood etc is a no-go – is gonna take a lot of time and effort, but if I invest the time now out could make things much simpler and faster in the future.
The postie delivers some air drying clay that I wanna use to create custom holders for drilling and finishing small cast items. I make up a test for a wee heart pendant I started making a ages ago but abandoned as I couldn’t hold it in place – or at the right angle for drilling.
A slap of rindless, boneless prior belly I took out the freezer has defrosted. I trim it up, score the fat cap and, using a mustard binder, add a salt, pepper and garlic rub. It goes in the fridge for smoking tomorrow…and destined for tomorrow night’s tacos.
We nip along to our pal Anna’s a couple of villages away – she’s invited us for dinner. It’s been ages since we had a catch up and we have a grand evening.
LAST night I noticed that some pages on my (this!) website haven’t translated properly to a new editing system. Nothing to do with my web host migration, this is an old issue that I hadn’t spotted. The promoters’ are and discography pages are gobbledygook!
I spend most of the morning sorting them out and packing up soem merch orders then we go for a quick swim before lunch.
Been missing getting out for a paddle…it’s been consistently windy for the last month, Hopefully calmer days will come soon.
My afternoon guitar student arrives at the studio while I’m messing with the guitar and we have a good session. Some of the kids coming for lessons are doing amazing!
I’m revisiting ways to try and tab out – tab, or tablature, is a way of notating guitar music – some of my songs…not just for some fo my guitar students, but also with a view to creating some digital (and maybe even physical) songbooks or some of my albums. My old midi guitar pickup gave up the ghost a few years ago and I was never completely happy with it. There’s a cheaper, improved version available now so I decide to give it a bash. Watch this space.
In the studio I have another bash at navigating the system for the radio show I’ll be presenting from end April. Not sure if there’s some permissions missing from my account or I’m missing something but I can’t build my music library and start getting my head round it all.
UP EARLY to get this week’s sourdough in the oven…a little later in the week than usual. It’s all baked, cooled and ready to eat in good time before my 9am online guitar session.
Dawn, my regular Wednesday morning in-person guitar student, rolls up just I finish the online lesson and we have a good session.
Voru Blues Club in Estonia has requested a short promo video for the show on 24 April. While I could just use my phone and knock something out I decide to try and do something a bit slicker which involves camera, lighting, green screen, a dash to the bay to film some ‘background, video and, eventually, some editing. Worth it tho’!
Before I know it my ‘double dunt’ – a two-at-once lesson for a sister and brother (aged eight and six respectively) – arrives.
Margaret and I both still have some lurgy hanging around and after the lesson I’m feeling wiped..and need a nap!
After 40 winks I hit the studio and get all my PRS live performance returns submitted then look out some local pix for a pal before Betty arrives to join us for dinner.
MARGARET gets a call from Catriona first going to ask if she can go and look after Aaron…she has a hairdresser appointment and Aaron’s off school ‘cos he was sick during the night. So off she goes.
After breakfast I hit the office and make a wedding gift for Barbara and Thorsten. We missed their wedding as we were in Brighton on Saturday.
I start organizing some PRS live performance returns then have some lunch…then a wander up the lochside. First time I’ve been a decent walk in ages.
I’m home in time for my afternoon guitar student then get busy with the PRS returns before heading to the village hall for a community hydro society meeting.
